


The Stranger In The Woods

by pasteldanhowells



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, First Meeting, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Phandom Big Bang, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-25 22:58:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12543148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pasteldanhowells/pseuds/pasteldanhowells
Summary: Dan is on his way to his friends house when a storm hits and he gets lost in the middle of the woods where there’s clearly no one around and no way for him to get help. At least, that’s what he thinks until he sees a cabin with lights on inside. Dan had been in a hurry before but after meeting the stranger who lives in the cabin, he might like to stay a bit longer.





	The Stranger In The Woods

Dan should have looked at the weather this morning before he decided to go on a two hour drive to visit his friend. He usually is always one to check the weather in the mornings before he leaves somewhere but today, for some reason, he decided not to as he had been in such a rush to leave for Louise’s house, and now he’s paying for it because it’s raining, or more like storming, outside.

The radio is on with the volume up. Dan hopes this will distract him from the storm. There’s an hour left until he reaches Louise’s house and he’s practically in the middle of nowhere with trees surrounding him.

Honestly, he doesn’t understand why Louise lives so far away from London. 

Dan is singing along to the radio loudly when a flash of lightning goes off in the sky, causing Dan to jump, but he doesn’t stop driving. He just wants to get to Louise’s house as fast as he can. He hopes the storm doesn’t last very long because it’s quickly getting crazy outside, and it’s making him nervous.

“You can do this Dan,” Dan whispers as he grips the steering wheel. 

Dan can feel his heart pounding against his chest, but he tries to ignore it and focuses on driving. “Just don’t pay atten- ah!” Another flash of lightning goes off, scaring the living daylights out of Dan. 

Dan quickly tries to stop the breaks but the road is too slippery from the rain, and he ends up turning and driving straight into a tree.

Dan groans as he leans back against his seat, trying to ignore the pain he’s feeling.

“Shit.” He slowly opens his eyes and looks around.

Great, he’s in the middle of absolute nowhere trapped in a storm.

Dan takes a deep breath before reaching over and grabbing his phone. But, of course, it’s dead. Now he can’t even try to contact anyone to come and save him. His car is damaged and he’s got nowhere to go, but he also doesn’t want to wait in this car while it’s storming like crazy outside.

“Fuck it, here we go…” Dan puts his hood up and opens the door, getting out of the car. It’s absolutely pouring raining and he can hear the thunder in the distance. He looks around, and starts walking.

Dan knows he’s going to regret this… but maybe he’ll find something out here, some sort of shelter.

And surprisingly, he does. He’s been walking for about a half an hour and he stumbles upon a cabin.

Dan doesn’t understand why there’s a cabin in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees. It appears to be used by someone as there are lights on inside. Maybe he can crash here for the night.

That is, if the person living there isn’t mad and kills him.

“Fuck, it’s cold,” Dan curses before rushing up on the porch. He knocks on the door a few times before stepping back and waiting, hoping that someone will answer the door and let him in.

Minutes pass, and there’s no answer which leaves Dan disappointed.

Dan sighs and steps off the porch. He looks around, and decides to explore the property. There isn’t much around besides a shed that is unfortunately locked and there’s an old swingset.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Dan jumps and let’s out a scream as soon as he hears the voice. He slowly turns around and his eyes widen when he sees the man in front of him is pointing a gun at him.

“Why are you snooping around my property?” The man asks, stepping closer to Dan.

Dan squeaks, his heart is loudly pounding against his chest and he’s frozen with fear.

Oh God. This is it. This is how I’m going to die, Dan thinks.

“I-I di-didn’t kn-know this was y-you’re pro-property,” Dan stutters.

“Well, it is and you’re trespassing. I should call the police on you,” the man snaps.

“You have a phone? Can I borrow it?” Dan asks, perking up, almost instantly forgetting about the fact that the man in front of him has a gun pointing to his head.

The man furrows his eyebrows. “Why on Earth would I let a stranger borrow my phone?”

Dan sighs, getting slightly annoyed that this stranger is being absolutely no help, though he honestly doesn’t blame him as here Dan is walking around his property. “Look mate, if you’re not going to let me borrow your phone… can you at least tell me a place where I can find a phone? I’m absolutely soaking wet and I don’t want to stay in the rain the entire night,” he snaps.

The man raises his eyebrows as he looks around before looking back at Dan, slightly amused. “Uh, well... do you realize where we are?” He asks, lowering his gun slightly though keeping it tight in his hands. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing nearby.”

Dan sighs and shakes his head. “Can I please borrow your phone? I'm sorry for trespassing but I was honestly just looking for some place to crash until the storm ends. I was not planning on stealing anything,” he says.

The man hesitates as he stares at Dan, debating on whether or not he wants to let him borrow the phone. On the plus side, it would be nice to have another human around. It’s been a couple weeks since he’s gone out to the city for anything. And, the man is attractive, which is a bonus for him. “I… guess you could stay.”

Dan’s eyes light up. “Really? Oh my God. Thank you so much!”

“Follow me,” the man says before turning around and leading the way back to the front of the cabin. He walks into the porch and opens the door, holding it open for Dan.

Dan steps onto the porch, under the roof where there’s no rain. Dan shakes his head slightly as his hair is now dripping wet from the rain. He’s still visibly shaking from the freezing cold, and he doesn’t even have a jacket to keep him warm. “Um, my name is Dan…” He hesitates before holding out a hand to the man.

“Nice to meet you. I'm Phil,” he says as he shakes Dan’s hand, before leading him inside.

Dan looks around once they're both inside the cabin. It's not too big but it's big enough. He would think it's a normal home if it wasn't actually a cabin which he finds surprising.

“Um, my phone is over there… beware, it's not one of those fancy phones that you can text on,” Phil says.

“How do you live without texting?” Dan mumbles before walking over and picking up the phone. He examines it for a moment as he’s never used one of these types of phones before. He’s always seen them in movies but never in real life. A phone hanging on the wall? That seems strange to Dan.

After he gets over the fact that the phone doesn’t have any texting or internet stuff, he finally calls Louise and he’s praying that she actually picks up. He is calling from a random phone number so Dan wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t pick up at all. Dan waits a few seconds before Louise finally picks up the phone.

“Hello?” Louise asks, and Dan can tell that she’s slightly nervous.

“Louise? Oh, thank God you picked up!” Dan sighs in relief the second he hears her voice.

“What? Dan, is that you? Where are you? I thought you would be here by now,” Louise says.

“You’ll never believe what happened to me,” Dan says. “I got caught up in the middle of a storm on my way to yours and then my car totally broke down and my phone died so I didn’t have any way to contact you.”

“Wait, how are you contacting me now if your phone died?” Louise asks curiously.

“That’s the other half of the story. I found this cabin in the middle of the woods and some guy lives there-” Dan glances over at Phil, who’s watching him carefully as he stands by the door.

“Dan, why in the world are you talking to strangers in the middle of the woods?” Louise exclaims. “I mean, are you trying to get yourself killed or something? That is totally dangerous and quite stupid. Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to talk to stranger when you were little?”

Dan can’t see her right now, but if he could… he knows that Louise would be shaking her head at him.

“Lou, if he was dangerous… he probably wouldn’t be letting me use his phone,” Dan chuckles.

“So, where are you? I can come get you,” Louise says.

“No, I don’t want you to get stuck in the storm too. It’s raining pretty hard right now and I-” Dan gets cut off as a loud clash of thunder goes off, making both him and Phil jump at the loud noise.

“Dan, I’m worried about you. Should I call the police?” Louise asks worriedly.

“No, Lou. I just wanted to call and tell you where I am. I don’t know when I’ll get to your house but hopefully the rain will stop soon and I’ll call you again before I leave,” Dan says.

“Okay, fine. Just… be careful, okay?” Louise says.

“I promise I will be,” Dan smiles a little.

“Okay, be safe. Bye!” Louise says before hanging up on Dan.

Dan sighs as he hangs the phone up and then looks over at Phil. “Thank, again…”

“Don’t mention it,” Phil shrugs. “So… I assume that you need a place to stay?”

“Just until the rain stops and I can actually leave. Though, my car is broken down…” Dan sighs. “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to get to Louise’s house. It’s not like I can walk there.”

“I can drive you,” Phil offers, walking further into the house.

“You don’t have to do that,” Dan frowns. “You’ve already done enough to help me. Wait, you have a car?”

Phil chuckles. “Of course I have a car. I need to get my food somehow, don’t I?” He says. “I know I’m like in the middle of the woods in complete nowhere but I’m not completely cut off from the rest of the world,”

“What did you expect for me to think?” Dan asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Anyways, you can stay over night and I’ll just drive you to wherever it is you need to be in the morning,” Phil says. “You just have to promise me that you won’t steal anything from me.”

Dan puts his hand up. “Promise,” he says with a chuckle. “Seriously, thank you for doing this.”

“No problem. I haven’t talked to another human in a long time so I guess it’s nice. Are you hungry?” Phil asks as he walks over to the kitchen area. “I haven’t been to the store in a while but I can make soup.”

“Oh no. You don’t have to do that,” Dan shakes his head. “I’m not that hungry any…” He stops when his stomach suddenly grumbles, and his cheeks turn a bright pink.

“I think your stomach is disagreeing with you,” Phil chuckles. “I’ll make some soup.”

“Thank you,” Dan mumbles, feeling slightly embarrassed as he’s already asked enough of Phil. He really doesn’t want to intrude on his home but he also doesn’t want to spend the night out in the rain either.

“You can have a seat on the couch if you want,” Phil tells Dan as he pulls out two bowls.

“Oh, thank you,” Dan says before walking over and sitting down. “You have a lovely home, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Phil smiles. “I worked hard on it. I didn’t build it but… you know.” He chuckles.

“Well, I would be very impressed if you did build it,” Dan says.

Dan sits quietly as Phil makes them dinner. It’s a late dinner, but it’s not either of their faults.

“Did I ever say thank you for not shooting me?” Dan asks as he takes the bowl of soup from Phil.

Phil laughs. “I wasn’t ever actually going to shoot you. I only had the gun out for protection,” he says.

“You really think someone as weak as me would be able to take on someone like you?” Dan asks.

Phil shrugs. “You never know,” he says. “You gotta have some faith in yourself.”

“Well, anyways… like I was saying, thanks,” Dan says, a smile forming on his face. “I never thought I would meet someone as nice as you in the middle of nowhere.”

“Well, I didn’t think a city boy would be snooping around my cabin late at night so we both got surprised,”

“Why did you end up here in a cabin anyways?” Dan asks curiously. “Aren’t you lonely?”

“Not really,” Phil replies with a shrug. “I came here to get away from that stuff. I don’t want to deal with relationships and heartbreaks. It just seems pointless to me. I’m happy out here, and it’s peaceful…”

Dan raises his eyebrows as he stares at Phil curiously. He just met this man but he can tell that he has had quite a few experiences in his life, good and bad. Obviously something had happened that made him move out into the middle of nowhere. Dan has so many questions but he doesn’t want to be annoying.

They just met each other. Dan knows Phil wouldn’t appreciate being hammered with questions about his personal life the same way Dan wouldn’t appreciate it if Phil did the same to him.

“Thank you again for the soup,” Dan says as he places the bowl in the sink.

“No problem. It’s the least I could do after pointing a gun at your head,” Phil says.

Dan is about to reply but he stops when the lights flicker on and off. “What was that?” He asks.

“Don’t worry about that. That happens a lot when it storms,” Phil tells him as he walks over to the sink to place his bowl in it as well. “I knew it was going to storm tonight so I have backup plans.”

“Backup plans for what?” Dan asks nervously as he looks up at Phil.

“In case the electricity goes out, silly,” Phil says before walking back into the living room.

Dan groans. He absolutely hates when the electricity goes out, mostly because he hates being in the dark.

“So,” Dan coughs awkwardly and walks out of the kitchen. “What do you do for fun around here?”

“What do you mean?” Phil asks as he looks up at Dan.

“Well, you don’t have a phone with internet or texting… and it looks like you don’t have a laptop either,”

“But I do have a television,” Phil quickly adds. “I like to read and paint.”

“You paint?” Dan asks with interest, sitting back down next to Phil on the couch. “I’m surprised. I mean, You don’t really strike me as someone who likes to paint.”

“What? Because I have black hair and an emo haircut?” Phil asks, raising his eyebrows.

“N-No… I didn’t mean it…” Dan’s eyes widen and shakes his head.

“I’m just kidding,” Phil laughs loudly. “You should have seen the look on your face!”

“You’re the worst!” Dan whines, playfully shoving Phil. He jumps as soon as the lights start flickering, and after a few moments of flickering on and off… the lights finally go out. “You have to be kidding me!”

“It’s alright,” Phil says as he stands up from the couch.

“How is this alright?” Dan asks as his breathing picks up. “It’s raining outside and it’s dark!”

Phil rolls his eyes slightly and then he pulls out a couple of candles from his cabinet.

“What… What are you doing?” Dan asks nervously as he watches Phil.

“Lighting the candles,” Phil says as he grabs one of his lighters. He lights three candles and places them all around the cabin so there’s enough light for them to be able to see and walk around.

Dan takes a deep breath once it’s no longer completely dark. “Sorry about that,” he mumbles shyly.

“That’s alright,” Phil says as he looks over at Dan. “So, I only have one bed up in the loft but the couch is pretty comfortable so will you be okay with sleeping on the couch?”

“Of course. I pretty much live on my couch at home so I don’t mind at all,” Dan assures.

“Cool. I have some blankets and pillows that you can have as well,” Phil adds.

“Thank you. Really. Thank you for not making me sleep in my broken down car,” Dan says.

“I’m not a heartless person, Dan,” Phil chuckles. “Besides… it’s nice having someone around. Nobody really comes out here very often so it is nice to talk to someone. I mean, I chose to live out here but it does get lonely every once in awhile.” He shrugs before walking over to the closet and opening it.

“Well, maybe I could give you my number? So, if you do get lonely… you can call me?” Dan suggests.

Phil raises his eyebrows as he looks over at Dan. “Are you flirting with me?”

“No,” Dan laughs. “But you would mind if I were flirting with you?”

Phil goes quiet for a moment before smiling. “I don’t think I’d mind it,” he says.

“So, what I’m getting at is… you’re gay?” Dan asks.

“Wow. Way to be forward,” Phil laughs. “But yes, I am gay.”

“Cool,” Dan says, feeling a little bit relieved. He did think Phil was cute once he realized that Phil wasn’t a totally crazy and insane man that wanted to kill him for trespassing. “That makes two of us.”

Phil pulls out a blanket and two pillows from the cabinet. He walks over over and tosses the blanket on Dan’s head before tossing the two pillows onto the other side of the couch.

“Hey!” Dan laughs and then takes the blanket off his head. “Man, my hair is curly now because of the rain.” He pouts. “And I don’t have my… wait, yes I do! Do you mind if I run out to my car real fast?”

“What for?” Phil asks, raising his eyebrows as he looks down at Dan.

“My bag. It has all of my stuff in it. And, I’ll need clothes if I’m going to stay the night,” Dan says.

“Maybe I should go with you. Just in case anything happens. It is raining pretty hard out there,” Phil walks over to the small window and looks out. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to you.”

Dan rolls his eyes. “Okay, mom. I guess you can go with me,” he says.

“Hey, I’m the one with a gun so if anything happens…”

“And what type of things do you think will happen?” Dan asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Uh, I don’t know… there could be a wild animal or a stranger willing to trespass at 7 o’clock at night looking for a place to stay while it storms,” Phil says.

“I guess s- hey! You’re talking about me,” Dan pouts and crosses his arms against his chest.

Phil laughs at him and then shakes his head. “Come on then Curly. Let’s go get your bag,” he says as he grabs his flashlight and walks over to the door. “We better go now before the storm gets even worse.”

Dan blushes at the nickname Phil calls him. Normally he would hate anyone calling him something like that but for some reason when Phil calls him that, it’s kind of endearing. He stands up from the couch and walks over to Phil. He pulls his hood over his head to prepare for the rain. “Let’s go then,” he says.

Phil nods and opens the door first, walking out onto the porch.

Dan sighs before also walking out onto the porch. “I think after tonight… I will have a hatred for rain,”

“Not me,” Phil says. “Because if it weren’t for the rain… I wouldn’t have met you tonight.”

Dan looks over at Phil and smiles, a little surprised to hear him say that.

****

Dan and Phil finally make it to Dan’s car in one piece. Dan had forgotten how far away his car had crashed so it took them a little while to get there. Luckily it wasn’t raining as hard when they got to his car but it was still raining. They were both soaked from walking in the rain for God knows how long.

“I think I have an umbrella in my car too,” Dan tells Phil.

“A little late for an umbrella but I’ll take it,” Phil says.

“Well, I don’t want my clothes to get wet so I’m taking it whether you want it or not,” Dan says.

“Just… hurry up, okay? My clothes are soaked and I’m freezing,” Phil says.

Dan rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything. He walks up to his car and opens his door. He looks around and spots his umbrella in the back seat. He reaches back and grabs it. “Open this while I get my bag please,,” he says as he tosses the umbrella to Phil.

“Okay,” Phil says once he catches the umbrella.

Dan then reaches over and grabs his bag from the passenger’s seat. He waits until Phil has the umbrella opened before pulling his bag out of the car. “Sorry for being a little bossy. The rain has made me moody,”

“That’s alright. I understand,” Phil gives him a reassuring smile.

“Should we head back?” Dan asks, looking up at Phil.

“That would be a good idea,” Phil nods, and puts the umbrella over his and Dan’s head.

Dan smiles and shuts the door, before he starts walking beside Phil.

They walk for about twenty minutes in a comfortable silence before Dan starts hearing leaves crinkle, which causes him to stop walking and look back to make sure nothing was behind him.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asks as he looks over at Dan.

“You didn’t hear that?” Dan asks, looking around nervously.

“Hear… what?” Phil asks, tilting his head slightly.

“I thought I heard something… maybe it’s just my imagin-” Dan jumps when he hears the noise again.

“Oh, that noise,” Phil says when he hears the crinkling as well. He quickly pulls his gun out of his pocket, just in case he needs to protect him and Dan. He looks around as well.

Dan gasps when something comes out from behind one of the trees.

“Oh,” Phil laughs once he realizes what it is. “It’s just a deer!”

“A deer!” Dan squeaks, stepping closer to Phil. “What if it attacks us?”

“Oh please Dan. Deer are harmless creatures. They rarely ever attack, at least that’s what I’ve experienced. I’m around them all the time and they’ve never even come close to harming me,” Phil assures him. “Honestly, I’m surprised there’s only one deer. Although, it is storming so maybe that’s why.”

“Well, make it go away!” Dan whines. “I don’t feel safe walking around here with a deer behind me.”

Phil rolls his eyes. “You’re such a baby. Here, hold this-” He hands the umbrella to Dan.

“What are you doing?” Dan asks curiously as he takes the umbrella from Phil.

Phil holds his gun up towards the deer.

Dan gasps. “Phil, what are you doing? Don’t kill it!” He exclaims, reaching over to grab the gun from him, but Phil quickly pushes Dan’s hands away before he gets hurt.

Phil smirks, and then he moves his gun over and pulls the trigger.

“Oh my God!” Dan closes his eyes, but then nothing happens. He slowly opens one eye and sees the deer running away from them. “Wait… I don’t understand? What the hell just happened?”

“I would never shoot an animal,” Phil says before placing the gun back in his pocket. “I’m an animal lover, and I’d do anything to protect an animal from danger. They’re such innocent creatures, in my opinion.”

“Really? What if the animal was threatening to chew your head off or something?” Dan asks.

Phil chuckles. “There are other options of surviving. I never shoot unless my life is truly in danger,”

“Oh,” Dan blinks a few times. “That’s good to know.”

“Come on, let’s get back to the cabin before you get spooked by anymore deers,” Phil chuckles.

“Hey, don’t make fun of me! I’m just not used to being around all these animals,” Dan complains. “I live in the city where there’s like barely any animals running around like this. Well, technically I live in my comfortable apartment which I barely leave.”

“You need to get out more, City Boy,” Phil shakes his head though there’s a smile on his face.

Dan blushes and starts walking with Phil again.

The more he spends time with Phil, the more he doesn’t want to leave this boy. They just met and he already feels so comfortable around him even though they barely know each other, but Dan wants to get to know him better. Not any of that deep and personal stuff but just… get to know him as a person.

Dan has so much to tell Louise once he finally sees her.

****

After Dan and Phil make it back to the cabin peacefully, they spend the rest of the night chatting and getting to know each other. Dan just loves talking to Phil and learning about all of his life experiences. They have such different lifestyles so it was interesting for Dan to learn about all these things from Phil.

“Well, I’ll be right up there if you need anything-” Phil says as he points up to the loft, where his bed is.

“Alright. Thank you again for letting me stay the night here-”

Phil chuckles. “You don’t have to keep thanking me.” he says.

“I know. But, you’ve been kind to me despite not knowing me and despite me trespassing your property,” Dan says with a light blush. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to spend the night out there in the storm.

“Well, you don’t have to think about that,” Phil smiles. “We’ll leave in the morning whenever you’re ready.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan to me. See you in the morning,” Dan smiles as he looks back at Phil.

Except, Dan and Phil ended up chatting with each other all night once neither of them couldn’t sleep. They talked about Dan being a popular youtuber and what he does for a living and all the experiences he’s had.

They even talked about their favorite TV shows and favorite bands. They had a lot more in common than Dan thought they did but he didn’t mind, it just surprised him considering Phil lived in the middle of nowhere yet he still managed to keep up with popular trends.

Dan managed to get two hours of sleep before he woke again. Phil is already dressed and ready for the day which Dan finds surprising. It usually takes him at least an hour to get out of bed as usually he is checking his social media. He’s a popular youtuber so there’s always something for him to look at on his laptop.

“So, I was thinking…” Dan starts as he stands with Phil in the kitchen.

“About?” Phil asks curiously as he glances over at Dan.

“Maybe I don’t have to leave right away,” Dan says. “Maybe I could… stay a couple of days?”

“What?” Phil asks, a little surprised. “Why would you want to stay here?”

“I don’t know. I just…” It’s because of you, you spoon!

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dan...” Phil says. “You’re pretty new when it comes to being in the woods. I mean… you freaked out over a deer when we were out. Remember?”

“Yes,” Dan pouts and crosses his arms against his chest. “You wouldn’t stop making fun of me last night.”

Phil grins, and then he sighs. “It’s not as easy as it looks. And besides, I have no food…”

“Then we could go to the city and get some. We can stop by Louise’s house and let her know I’m okay,”

“Okay, what’s the real reason you want to stay?” Phil asks, raising his eyebrows.

Dan blushes. “There is no real reason. What do you mean?” He asks.

Phil chuckles once he sees Dan’s cheeks turn bright pink. “You’re cute,” he says.

“I’m not cute!” Dan argues. “I’m a manly-man. Sports and stuff… uh, football!”

Phil snorts. “Okay, Dan. You go ahead and tell yourself that,” he says, laughing loudly.

“See? I make great company,” Dan grins. “Come on. Let me stay for a couple days. I won’t be a bother unless you need help with anything. You even said it yourself that you get lonely sometimes.”

Phil stares at Dan for a few moments. “Okay, fine-” He sighs in defeat.

Dan smiles even wider. “Really?” He asks excitedly.

“But only for a couple of days. You actually have a life to get back to,” Phil says.

“Okay, okay. But… we still have to go back into the city, and I want to stop by my apartment,” Dan says.

“Anything else?” Phil asks, raising his eyebrows at Dan.

“I don’t think… hey!” Dan exclaims, playfully glaring at Phil. “You’re the worst.”

“I know,” Phil grins. “Let’s get going then. I don’t want to be stuck in traffic all day.”

“Okay. Lead the way, Sir,” Dan jokes before following Phil out of the cabin.

Dan and Phil stop by Louise’s first, so Dan can let her know that he’s fine as he knows she was worrying.

“Dan! I’m so happy to see you!” Louise exclaims as she pulls Dan into a hug.

Dan laughs as he hugs Louise back. “Lou! I can’t breathe!”

“Oh, I’m sorry-” Louise quickly pulls away and smiles at Dan. “I was just so worried about you. I mean… you told me that you were staying in the middle of the woods with some strange man who-”

“Louise, this is the strange man I was staying with-” Dan points to Phil and chuckles.

Louise’s eyes widen as soon as she sees Phil standing there. “Who was talking about a strange man? What?” She coughs awkwardly. “Uh, nice to meet you…?”

“Phil,” Phil says. “My name is Phil. Nice to meet you, strange woman.”

Louise blushes. “So, you’re not some sort of serial killer, are you?” She asks.

Phil chuckles and shakes his head. “I know that I live in the middle of nowhere but I promise I’m not a serial killer. I mean… Dan’s still alive so that should tell you something,” he says.

“Although you did point a gun to my head for a brief moment, remember?” Dan adds.

“What else was I supposed to do when a stranger was trespassing?” Phil asks.

Dan sticks his tongue out at Phil and then looks over at Louise. “Anyways. See? I’m alive,” he says.

“Brilliant. Are you coming in? Darcy has been so excited to see you,” she says.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m staying. I’m going to stay with Phil for a little while longer,” Dan says.

“What? Why?” Louise asks. “I mean… no offensive. I’m sure you’re lovely.”

“Louise,” Dan laughs at her. “Phil’s nice. Don’t worry about it. I promise. I just… I want to spend more time in the woods. It’s kind of cool when it’s not storming so hard. Phil will look after me.”

“But, I thought that we were gonna spend the weekend together?” Louise pouts. “It’s already Saturday and we missed so much of our plans. We missed the wine night last night!”

“I know but I promise I’ll come back after I’m done at Phil’s,” Dan says. “And we’ll have wine night then.”

Louise sighs in defeat, and then looks over at Phil. “You better bring him back in one piece,” she warns.

“I promise I will. I will not let anything happen to Dan,” Phil tells her.

“Tell Darcy I said hi, okay? I promise I’ll come back in a few days and make up for missing everything,” Dan says. He hugs Louise and says goodbye to her before leaving with Phil.

“She was… nice?” Phil says as they walk back to Phil’s car.

“She is nice. She just wasn’t expecting me to bring the guy who lives in the middle of nowhere with me,” Dan says. “I’m sure you two would get along once she gets past the general shock.”

“You know, you’re starting to make me sound more and more like a serial killer or something,” Phil chuckles as he looks over at Dan. “I’m not saying you are… it’s just funny.”

Dan blushes as he looks over at Phil. “I’m not meaning to. It’s just the situation,” he claims.

“I know,” Phil laughs. “So, where are we going next?”

“My apartment. I need to get a few things and I kind of need to shower,” Dan tells him.

“You have a shower?” Phil’s ears perk up and he looks over at Dan. “Do you mind if I take a shower? It’s okay if you say no but it’s just… it’s been so long since I’ve showered in a real shower. Living in the woods is great and all but the shower I have is not great at all. It’s actually the worst.”

“Okay. I don’t mind at all but… you’re gonna have to borrow some of my clothes,” Dan replies with a shrug.

Dan and Phil decide to go shopping first so Phil can buy some new clothes so he wouldn’t have to borrow any of Dan’s clothes, and they also bought some groceries as Phil had started running low at his cabin.

“Nice place,” Phil says once they get to Dan’s apartment.

“Thanks. It’s not the greatest apartment ever but… it’s home,” Dan grins as he looks over at Phil. “I’m gonna take a shower first so you can just chill out in the living room and watch TV. I shouldn’t take that long really.” He smiles at Phil before heading to his bedroom to grab some clothes.

Phil sighs quietly as he looks around Dan’s apartment. He feels slightly weird and uncomfortable being in an apartment like this after living in his cabin for so long, and he much prefers his cabin.

Phil hesitates before sitting down on the couch and grabbing the remote to turn on the TV. He puts on the news to see if there was anything about the storm from last night.

Dan is gone for about twenty minutes before he finally comes back into the living room, dressed and freshly cleaned as well as his hair straightened.

Phil looks over and raises his eyebrows when he sees Dan. “Wow, you look so different with straight hair,”

“Yeah… I get that a lot from my friends,” Dan chuckles.

“It must take you ages to straighten your hair,” Phil says as he looks at Dan curiously.

“Okay, enough about my hair!” Dan laughs. “I just need to grab a few things and then we can go, okay?”

Phil shrugs. “Yeah, sure. Take your time. I’m in no hurry,” he replies with a shrug.

“But we do have groceries in the car and we wouldn’t want anything to melt,” Dan reminds Phil.

“That’s very true, so maybe don’t take too long,” Phil says.

Dan smiles and then he rushes back to his room to grab a few things. He can’t believe he’s actually going to be staying at a cabin with someone he hardly knows. Some people, like Louise, might call him crazy but he can’t help but want to stay with Phil longer. Dan did get to know him overnight and Phil isn’t a weirdo, nor is he a serial killer. If he was, Dan would probably already be dead by now.

Dan and Phil finally make it back to Phil’s cabin. Dan helps Phil bring in the groceries and helps him put away everything. It’s the least he could do. Phil is letting him stay in his cabin for a few days.

“God, it feels so nice to have food in my fridge again,” Phil chuckles as he shuts the fridge door.

“How did you survive that long without food?” Dan asks, grinning as he looks over at Phil.

“Normally I don’t really go that long,” Phil replies as he looks back at Dan. “Good thing you came along and gave me a reason to actually go out into the city. But, a boy needs to eat.”

“How come you don’t like going into the city?” Dan asks curiously.

“Long story,” Phil mumbles before shrugging. “A lot has happened.”

“I’ve got all the time in the world. You wanna talk?” Dan asks. “I’m a good listener.”

Phil thought for a moment before he finally shakes his head. “Maybe later but not right now. I just really don’t want to get into it but I will definitely keep your offer in mind. How about we pop some popcorn and put a movie in? Or find something on Netflix?” He suggests as a smile forms across his face.

“A movie and popcorn, this early?” Dan asks, raising his eyebrows. “It’s hardly past 5pm.”

“It’s never too early for popcorn and a movie!” Phil defends playfully.

“Okay then, a popcorn and movie it is. What movie should we watch?” Dan asks, chuckling.

“I’ve got quite the collection of DVDs over there on the shelf. You can look through them if you want. Anything is fine with me,” Phil tells him as he points to the shelf he has in the corner of the cabin.

“Okay,” Dan smiles and walks over to the shelf and starts looking through the DVDs.

“So, you said you were a, uh… youtuber?” Phil asks curiously.

“Mhm,” Dan says as he looks over at Phil. “What about it?”

“Aren’t you worried about making a video?” Phil asks. “Like, don’t you have a schedule?”

“I used to but… not so much anymore. I find that uploading whenever I want to is much better for me. Like, it’s too much pressure to have a schedule, especially when I don’t have anything for a video planned out. You know, I used to get anxiety and have panic attacks over not uploading a video on time. But now, it’s much better and honestly I think my audience likes it too. I mean, I don’t upload as much as I used to but I’m happier with my videos now,” Dan explains.

Phil smiles as he listens to Dan. “That’s good. I can understand how having a schedule is stressful,” he says. “I’d like to look at your videos sometimes, if that’s okay with you?” He asks.

“Of course. I’d love to know what you think of them,” Dan grins.

“I’ve never known someone who actually makes youtube videos. Of course, I watch a lot of them…”

“What youtubers do you watch? There are quite a few of them in London,” Dan says, looking at the DVDs.

“I think I recognize Louise. I watch a few British youtubers. Zoella, Jack and Dean, PJ…”

“All of my friends. That’s cool,” Dan smiles, and then he reaches over and pulls out a DVD from the shelf. “How about we watch Jurassic Park? I haven’t seen this movie in forever.”

“That’s a great choice,” Phil smiles and then he stands up. “I love that movie as a child.”

“That’s a weird movie to love as a child,” Dan laughs.

“I can make a whole list of reasons of why I was a weird kid. You wouldn’t believe,”

“That makes two of us,” Dan grins. Dan agrees to make the popcorn while Phil gets the movie started.

And this continued to happen for the next week or so. Dan didn’t want to leave. He wasn’t too much fun hanging out with Phil. He never knew it could be so fun living out in the woods in a small cabin.

It was strange to Dan because he’d known this man for less than two weeks but he felt like they’d been best friends since they were little kids. Dan already knew so much about Phil. They could talk about anything together and Phil would understand Dan and not judge him for anything.

Dan knew he was falling for Phil fast but he couldn’t help himself.

“Dan,” Phil says one night, looking over at Dan, who’s sleepily sitting next to him on the couch.

“Hm?” Dan blinks a few times as he looks up at Phil tiredly.

“I love having you here but… don’t you think you should be getting back home? I mean… people are probably starting to wonder where you disappeared off too. Your family?”

“I don’t live with my family. We hardly ever see each other anyways,” Dan shrugs.

“But, what about your youtube thing?” Phil asks. “It’s been like three months since you last made a video,” Phil says. “I’m not saying that I want you to leave or anything but you do have a life in the city.”

“The city is boring. I live by myself and there’s no one to talk to ever,” Dan pouts and rests his head on Phil’s shoulder. “It’s nice having someone to talk to. You actually like the same things that I like and actually get along with each other. I don’t want to go home. Please don’t make me go.”

“You’re so cute,” Phil says as he wraps an arm around Dan. “You should go home though.”

Dan pouts. “But, how will I stay in touch with you?” He asks, looking up at Phil.

“Well…” Phil sighs softly. “I could go out and get a phone. An actual phone.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind calling you but you’d probably get sick of me,” Dan giggles. “You don’t have to get a phone if you don’t want to but I would like to be able to talk to you again.”

Phil chuckles. “Don’t worry, Dan, I’ll get a cell phone. Just for you,” he says. “Although I wouldn’t mind talking to you on the phone every day. You have a pretty voice.”

Dan blushes and looks down at his hands. “Thanks,” he says shyly.

“When do you think will be a good time for you to leave?” Phil asks.

“I guess I could leave tomorrow morning. After breakfast?” Dan suggests.

“That’s early,” Phil pouts. “But whatever time is best for you.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Dan whines once more as he snuggles closer to Phil.

Phil smiles fondly as he looks down at the curly haired boy in his arms. “I don’t want you to leave either but you actually have a life outside of the woods. You have a career and friends…”

“Do you think you’ll ever move back to the city?” Dan asks.

“Probably not. I don’t like the city life,” Phil sighs. “Too many people.”

Dan looks up at Phil for a few seconds before slowly pushing himself up. “Did someone hurt you?”

“What?” Phil asks, instantly looking over at Dan. “Why would you ask that?”

“I-I’m sorry, Phil. It’s just… whenever you talk about the city, you always talk about how much people are in the city. So, I-I was just wondering if maybe someone hurt you,” Dan bites his lip nervously.

Phil takes a deep breath. “Yes, someone did hurt me but I really don’t want to talk about it,” he snaps.

“I’m sorry. I… I’m sorry,” Dan looks down at his hands.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. You were only asking a question,” Phil whispers.

“It’s okay. Let’s just forget I ever mentioned it, yeah?” Dan glances up at Phil.

“Sounds good to me,” Phil chuckles. “What movie did you want to watch next?”

The rest of the night, Dan and Phil stayed cuddled up on the couch together watching movies and eating popcorn. It had become their tradition ever since Dan started staying with Phil.

Phil actually didn’t want Dan to leave, but he also didn’t want to keep him from living his life. They’ve become really close and Phil really liked Dan. He had hoped on asking Dan to be his boyfriend which is surprising because Phil hasn’t been with anybody in over ten years, since he moved out of the city. He had a hard time trusting boys after his last boyfriend. But, Dan is different.

Dan is sweet and kind and innocent. He has a big heart, and Phil loves that about Dan.

Maybe one day Phil will ask Dan to be his boyfriend. Just… not right now.

@DanielHowell: finally heading home today after being away for a couple weeks. london… here i come

“Are you tweeting already?” Phil asks tiredly as he walks into the kitchen. “It’s not even ten.”

“Shut up,” Dan pouts. “I have to keep my followers updated.”

“Well, yeah… but what is there to tweet about at ten o’clock in the morning?” Phil asks.

Dan laughs. “Oh Phil. I have so much to teach you about,” he says.

“Shut up,” Phil says, mimicking Dan and sticking his tongue out at him. “You got everything ready?”

“Yeah. Everything’s already packed. Are you sure you want me to leave?” Dan asks, frowning.

“I don’t want you to leave, but you kind of have to. You can’t do your video stuff here,” Phil says.

“That would be weird… wouldn’t it?” Dan asks, chuckling.

“How long has it been since you’ve uploaded? A month you said?” Phil asks teasingly.

“Stop bullying me!” Dan whines, pushing Phil playfully. “I hate you.”

“Aw, that’s not true!” Phil grins and then he engulfs Dan in a big bear hug. “You love me.”

“Ew, that’s gay,” Dan jokes as he playfully shoves Phil off of him.

Phil laughs loudly. “Oh, whatever. You’re such a dork. Come on, let’s get your stuff in the car,” he says, gently poking Dan before walking out of the kitchen to help Dan with his stuff.

Dan pouts, and reluctantly follows Phil out of the kitchen. He grabs his packed bag. “I don’t want to leave.”

“Dan,” Phil looks over at Dan and frowns. “You keep doing that and I’m not going to let you leave.”

Dan’s eyes light up instantly. “Okay. I don’t wanna-”

“I wasn’t being serious,” Phil giggles. “Come on-” He gently grabs Dan and drags him out of the kitchen.

“Ugh. It’s going to be so weird living by myself again,” Dan sighs as he tosses his bag into Phil’s car.

“I’ll tell you what,” Phil begins as he turns and looks at Dan with a serious look on his face. “If you ever get lonely. Like, really lonely. I’ll come to London and visit you. If you want me to, that is.”

“Really?” Dan asks as his eyes light up once again. “Of course I’ll want you to visit me!”

“Okay, then I will,” Phil replies with a grin. “And, I’ll be watching out for you online now that I know all of your YouTube stuff. I want to get one of those fancy phones. Like, the one you have.”

“An iPhone?” Dan chuckles and holds up his phone. “You and your limitless knowledge of technology.”

“I’ve lived in the woods for ten years!” Phil defends, pouting.

Dan giggles and gets into the car. “Okay, but we need to stop and get coffee…”

“Of course we do,” Phil says before also getting into the car.

Dan and Phil finally make it to London. They stop at Starbucks first before making it to Dan’s apartment.

“You'll call me, right?” Dan asks as he stands with Phil outside his apartment door. He feels like crying but that would be a silly thing to do. He wouldn't want to embarrass himself in front of Phil.

“Yes, of course. As soon as I get a new phone that allows me to text and do all that other fancy stuff that your phone does, I will call you and then you can call me whenever you want to!” Phil assures him. “And, this won't be the last time we see each other, I promise.”

Dan pouts and then he quickly wraps his arms around Phil, hugging him tightly. “If you ever need someone to annoy you again, you know where I'll be at. Like, you literally know where I live,” he says.

Phil laughs as he hugs Dan back. “I'll make sure to remember that,” he says.

Dan finally yet reluctantly pulls away from the hug. “You better get going before traffic starts getting bad. Trust me when I say you do not want to get caught in London traffic.”

Phil grins and nods. “Believe me, I know,” he says. “I'll call you later to let you know I've made it home. Bye Dan! Thanks again for keeping me coming the past few weeks!” He waves at Dan as he walks off the steps, and walks back to his car. He gives Dan one last time before getting into his car and driving off.

Dan smiles as he watches Phil and then he sighs sadly once he no longer sees Phil in sight, and then he bends down and grabs his bag and walks into the apartment. He turns on the lights and looks around.

Everything is different without Phil around.

Everything is… lonely, and Dan doesn't like it one bit. Who is he going to talk to now? Sure, he’s always got his few youtuber friends and his followers online but it’s not the same.

Phil is the only one who truly understands him and that’s why they got along so well together.

But, it didn't take long for Dan to get used to his old schedule again.

Dan has already made two videos since being back in his apartment and it’s only been about two weeks. He’s already filmed and uploaded one of the two videos. He needed something to do to keep his mind off of Phil because if he thought about Phil he would get sad and depressed because he missed him so much, even though they spoke to each other every day now that Phil has an actual phone.

Now, Dan is doing a live stream after uploading the first video.

“What’s up, you guys?” Dan greets as he gets situated on his couch and places his laptop on the coffee table. “This is weird. Haven’t done one of these in a while. “Sorry I disappeared for a little bit. I was um, visiting a friend outside of London. I stayed longer than I planned too. But, now I’m back.”

It was a couple minutes later when Dan receives a text from Phil, letting him know that he was watching.

“Wow, my friend is watching. The one I mentioned earlier,” Dan grins as he looks at the laptop. “Hi Phil!”

Dan laughs as he watches the chat suddenly go crazy. “You guys. He’s a friend. We’re not dating. Relax,” he says. “Besides, Phil lives too far away. Well, not really… but, you know what I mean!”

From Phil:  
To Dan:

rude :(

Dan looks down at the text that he had gotten from Phil and giggles before sticking his tongue out. “Shut up Phil, I’m trying to live stream and you’re distracting me!”

Dan live streamed for about forty five minutes before he finally ends his live show. He talks on the phone with Phil for about an hour. And once he hangs up, he’s sad again.

It’s been a few week already since Dan’s last seen Phil and even though they text each other every day, he still misses his presence. He doesn’t know why, he just wants to be around Phil all the time.

And so the next day, Dan packed a bag and headed out of London once again.

It’s late by the time he makes it to Phil’s cabin and once again, it’s raining. Dan’s soaked and tired but he doesn’t care because he’s seconds away from seeing Phil again. He didn’t even warn Phil he was coming.

“Fucking rain,” Dan shivers as he walks onto the porch. He knocks on the door and takes a step back. He would be a lot more nervous and excited if it wasn’t for the bloody rain.

The door finally opens, revealing a very confused Phil.

Phil looks up and gasps when he realizes that it’s Dan who had knocked on his door. “Dan?”

Dan looks up and gives a shy smile. “I-I didn’t mean to show up like this. B-But I…”

“Oh my God-” Phil shakes his head and pulls Dan into a tight hug before pulling him inside. “You’re crazy!”

“Some might say,” Dan says, looking over at Phil. “But I needed to see you again.”

Phil rushes to the bathroom and grabs a towel and quickly wraps the towel around Dan. “But… why didn’t you just call me or something? I told you I’d come visit you again if you really wanted me to.”

“I didn’t want to call you again. I wanted to see you, physically,” Dan says.

Phil stops and looks at Dan, and a smile forms on his face. “God, I’ve missed you,” he whispers before hugging Dan again. “It hasn’t been the same since you’ve left. I’ve missed having someone to talk to.”

Dan laughs as he hugs Phil back. “I’ve felt the exact same way,” he mumbles.

The hug lasts for a few more moments before Phil finally pulls away. He looks down at Dan and takes a deep breath before slowly leaning down to kiss him, it’s a sweet yet passionate kiss.

“Phil,” Dan whispers once the kiss ends. “I…”

“I’m sorry,” Phil says quickly. “I’ve just… I’ve wanted to do that for so long. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, you big spoon-” Dan laughs and pulls Phil down for another kiss.

Phil smiles. “Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting my night to end like this… but I’m so glad it did,”

“I couldn’t go another day without seeing you,” Dan says. “I never want to be apart from you again.”

Phil grins. “That’s good, because I never want to be apart from you again either,” 

Dan never intended to meet Phil. He never intended to get stuck in the middle of nowhere during a storm.

But he’s so glad he did because now he’s met his best friend, and now boyfriend.


End file.
